Skill: get-next-feature

Select the next feature to implement from feature_list.json.

Purpose

Find the next feature the Ralph Implementer should work on, based on priority rules.

Priority Rules

1. •If any feature has status: "in_progress", select it (retry scenario)
2. •Otherwise, select the first feature with status: "pending"
3. •If no features match either rule, return nothing (all done or all blocked)

Input

• •Path to feature_list.json (default: ./feature_list.json)

Output

JSON object of the selected feature:

{
  "id": "F042",
  "description": "Validate email format on registration",
  "acceptance_criteria": ["Email regex rejects invalid formats", "Valid emails pass through"],
  "status": "pending",
  "attempts": 0,
  "last_error": null,
  "notes": "",
  "related_files": ["src/validators/"]
}

If no features are available, output:

{ "result": "ALL_COMPLETE" }

Usage

Bash

./skills/ralph/get-next-feature/get-next-feature.sh [feature_list.json]

PowerShell

./skills/ralph/get-next-feature/get-next-feature.ps1 [-Path feature_list.json]

Inline (jq)

# Find in_progress feature
jq '.features[] | select(.status == "in_progress")' feature_list.json

# Or first pending feature
jq '[.features[] | select(.status == "pending")] | first' feature_list.json

Rules

• •NEVER read the entire feature_list.json if it's large. Use targeted jq queries.
• •Always check for in_progress first (handles retry after failure).
• •Return the full feature object so the implementer has all context.